Why not just give everyone the benefit of the doubt? Wouldn't it be better if you just assumed that most people have genuinely good intentions? Educate them. Kindly. Patiently. And SMILE ! :)

Feel free to ask Aunt Acid a variety of questions at advice@the-toast.net at any time. Previous installments can be found here. Dear Aunt Acid, As my understanding of racism and white privilege has grown over the years, I have learned to recognise subtle behaviours and microaggressions that are, despite declarations of "not racist," definitely racist. I grew up remarkably liberal and free from overt racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, and general…

There are four notebooks living in my room. Three are in current use, filled with fashion scribbles, abandoned essay ideas, and half-finished cover letters. The fourth fell out of rotation nearly five years ago although the height of its use dates back even further. It had been less a notebook and more a journal containing a close accounting of certain events. Unlike most of my books and a considerable percentage of my clothes, I couldn’t…